The Center for Environmental Health Sciences (CEHS) at The University of Montana has had an active high school and undergraduate training program to help prepare students for graduate training and a research career. Through a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) funded through the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), CEHS has established a strong partnership with local high schools in environmental science education. The Short-Term Educational Experiences for Research (STEER) program will serve as a bridge between the SEPA goals and increasing the number of motivated students wanting to pursue a career in Environmental Health Science research. The overall goal of the STEER training plan is to provide a stimulating educational environment for high school and undergraduate students through a combination of didactic, group learning and hands-on basic research experiences that will encourage these students to pursue careers in Environmental Health Sciences (toxicology). This will be accomplished through the following aims: Aim 1: To provide an interactive educational experience through an entry level didactic course in toxicology combined with integrated group learning activities and group appropriate seminars;Aim 2: To provide training in bench research in Environmental Heath Sciences working in laboratories of successful investigators and their groups;Aim 3: To conduct objective evaluation of all aspects of the training program to effect continuous improvement and document success of the program;and Aim 4: To train a significant number of Native American students during the 5-year tenure of the program.